Wondering if anyone on here hunted the laguna nwr archery for deer/nilgai? Didnt kno if the deer would be rutting that time yr there or not and if u could see very good we hunted bahia in February and it was open enough to glass

I have with my father and brother, hunting is challenging. Saw way more sign than animals, but did see plenty. Rut depends on when you draw, usually South Texas is mid to late December. My dad took a female Nilgai. We saw plenty of bulls just couldn't connect on the stalks, and they didn't come in close enough to setups. My lesson learned is that when stalking them they will lay down almost flat in the tall grass and you can go right by them and never know, 9 yards to be exact...

That sounds about like bahia but i never seen em lay down i was kinda wondering if they ever did bed lol, we drew frst wk of jan so maybe little rut activity, thanks

Looks like we maybe joining you, or at least some of our group will be. We drew in the 2nd draw for the first week of January as well. Dad and I also drew at The Nature Conservancy for the same dates, so we are trying to decide which hunt we are going to do.

I passed on that second week of January. I must've made a mistake when submitting apps. If like to believe y'all got my spot! So you're welcome! Lol

January is probably one of the best times to be down there. Deer down there start rutting late December.

I also bow hunted Bahia Grande in February. I stalked a bull tending a cow starting from more than 400 yards. It took me an hour and a half to get to within about 90 yards when they just laid down and disappeared completely in the tall grass. I figured I'd get a little closer and then sit too, and wait them out. But eventually another bull chased off from somewhere else came galloping through and the two popped up and ran away with the intruder -- they were gone in a split second. I watched the whole thing without being able to do a darn thing about it. I think the wooded parts of the main reserve are more challenging than the wide open units, but Bahia Grande is more frustrating because you see so many animals at distance and have so little chance of getting close because there is so little cover once you get away from the gate area. I also sat in tall grass along the bank of the water in the northeast side and watched four huge bulls that I thought were coming towards me (there were tracks on the sand), when they take a right turn and go directly across the body of water, just straight across it, a half mile away. The bulls will cross the tidewater, no problem, but the cows with young will not, as best as I could figure out from tracks.